Portraits of India: Capturing Faces That Reflected Myself

I recently came back from a trip to India. I left the UK with the intent of photographing a culture entirely different from mine. Searching for a new challenge, I looked at India in the eyes, and I faced myself.

I tried to capture the emotions felt during the journey. I decided to do it my way, capturing my favorite subject: people. Stepping away from the landscapes and the incredible Indian colors and showing what for me was the real beauty of this country.

India is a big land of contrasts; sometimes it strokes you with love, other times it slaps you firmly. Halfway my travel, someone stole my Nikon D610 DSLR camera and lenses.

Having lost my kit, all I had was a fixed-lens 35mm-equivalent camera (the Fuji X100T). The loss didn’t hold me back from the idea of making close portraits. Instead, the wider lens actually pushed me to approach every person I wanted to photograph and establish contact with them. This constraint increased my chances to get better photos and to touch different aspects of the culture.

Initially, I was aiming to capture the happiness of the people I met, but the truth is, it’s impossible to photograph happiness if you’re not happy yourself.

Afterwards, I realized that I tend to approach people who I feel could be the right subject and, subconsciously, capturing faces that were reflecting myself and what I was feeling inside.

Fear and confidence, happiness and sadness, curiosity, tension, appreciation. Here they are, part of the faces of my India.

About the author: Massimiliano Giorgeschi is a freelance portrait photographer from Italy who’s based in the UK. You can find more of his work on his website, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, 500px, and Flickr.